Sensor applications are expanding rapidly. This is especially true in the Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) field. The MEMS field is the integration of mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, or the like and electronics on a common silicon substrate through microfabrication technology.
Presently, the packaging of pressure sensors typically includes isolating the sensing element from the ambient environment. However, by isolating the sensing element from the ambient environment, a certain degree of accuracy is lost. Furthermore, in some pressure sensors, the material used to hold the sensing elements may not be resistant to the operating environment. This may cause the pressure sensor to fail in a corrosive environment.
Therefore, a need exists to provide a device and method to overcome the above problem. The device and method should provide a package construction that mounts the circuit element die inside an electronic package in the conventional sense but which also allows a sensing element in the active device to be exposed to the environment it is intended to monitor.